Tortoise Requirments?

Question

Im getting a tortose in a couple of weeks and have been reading books and site (e.t.c) and am not sure what the actuall requirments are as everything is sayng something different, is there anyone out there that has experiance with torts and can tell me what their set up is like, what is needed (bulbs, supliments). That kinda stuff would be a great help.

Thanks ~x~

Answer 1

Hi Camoren Funny thing i had a tortoise before and his name was Toby. Looking after him was the easiest thing to do, they love to eat lettuce,cabbage leafs,apples things like that. There not much minding in them. They hibernate and i didn't know this. I was playing in my back garden and he was in a box he would not come out and i thought that i had done something bad to him. Please remember i was only a kid, so i hid him at the bottom of the garden and never told anyone, My twin kept asking where's Toby i was so frighting and still couldn't tell. Well you can guess my shock when i came home from school and my mum had found Toby at the bottom of the garden still in his box and still sleeping. I asked whats wrong with Toby and my mum told me not to worry that he was just in hibernation. WOW i was so glad to hear that.

Answer 2

Tortoise Requirments?
Im getting a tortose in a couple of weeks and have been reading books and site (e.t.c) and am not sure what the actuall requirments are as everything is sayng something different, is there anyone out there that has experiance with torts and can tell me what their set up is like, what is needed (bulbs, supliments). That kinda stuff would be a great help.

Thanks ~x~

Answer 3

Firstly I would say that unless you are TOTALLY commited do not buy one. I have a Hermanns and boy are they hard work. You will need a fair sized vavarium which should house him until he is around 5/6 years old all year. It's best not to hibernate in the early years and they shouldn't be subjected to english weather so young if you intend for it to last it's potential life span. You will need to replace the UV tube (£15 - 20) twice a year to ensure maximum benefit. A heat lamp which seem to blow every 2 mins, a heat pad and a min/max thermometer. The total initial cost to set up my viv was £350 plus £125 for Ollie (the Tort). Food costs however are reasonable as they eat most veg, mine loves tomatoe and plums, but you will need to supliment with calcium (essential) and a varity of food that any good dealer will sell. This is around £5 per 200gr but will last the month. Your Tort will be active and need regular cleaning and dry bedding. Leave this and your house will smell awful. I never really appreciated the commtiment involved to keep a Tort properly, and although it is hard, I wouldnt really ever like to be without him. Good luck in your quest.

Answer 4

well all breeds vary a bit.... but basically they all need a basking light made for reptiles ( warmth helps digest their food) and one side of the setup should be the warm side and the other side the cool side... and a full spectrum florecent is recommended (for the benifical ubv rays) and they need to be "soaked" in water about 1/4 - 1/2 way up the shell at least once a week( to help them poo) and give them as much room to roam as possible (live longer happier lives) the eat a varied diet of greens and veggies such as romaine lettuce,collard greens,spinach,cabbage,broccolli,carrots,squash,ect.(daily)NO NO iceburg lettuce(NO nutiritanal value) and chop them to fit your tortoise...also most turtles enjoy crickets and meal worms weekly...there is also tortoise diets on the market (but some wont eat it) good question...and GOOD LUCK..also i do not recommend a heat pad it can burn them...and as for the bedding do not use cedar(harms their respratory system) or crushed walnut(can cause them to get a blockage in their digestive track)i recomend aspen or news paper

Answer 5

http://www.slowcoach.org.uk/

As the site makes clear you may need to have a licence as they are protected speciaes in the UK. However, the above site has all the relevant information.